Middle School Girls

Last weekend I spent time in Vienna with our middle school girls volleyball team.  This is what stood out:

Girls are all the same no matter the age.  Whether 13, 30, or 80, the talk is the same... "Did you hear what she did?  Can you believe it?"  Gossip, chit chat, whatever you want to call it.  13 year old girl conversation is not much different than 33 year old girl conversation.  Sad but true.

Why do 13 year olds think prank calling is so funny?  Because it is!  Those girls had us all in stitches on the train ride home.  Now I remember why we did prank calls in seventh grade.

I was just like that.  Yes, I remember being a middle school girl.  I remember freaking out over nothing.  Crying over nothing.  Shrieking in high pitches over nothing or something.  Middle school girls are the same no matter if you're listening to New Kids on the Block on your walkman or your own music mix on garage band.

There is a reason Americans have a reputation overseas.  And there is a reason Americans who live overseas sometimes get embarrassed by it.  After a shopping excursion, one American girl was telling us how embarrassed she was in the dressing room because some tourist American girls were making such a fuss, being so loud, and taking so much time going to and fro.  This girl, whose first time living overseas is Budapest these last two years, shook her head at what seemed absurd to her.  How did she know the other kids were American?  You can tell!  My response, "It's not the last time it will happen honey."  Even 13 year olds notice the loud Americans.  Again, sad but true.

I love being around people who speak all different languages and travel the world.  Need a German translator while in Austria?  Just ask one of your students.  When the train is delayed and an announcement made, an eighth grade German speaker comes in handy.  Or the Hungarian kid, or Dutch, or Swedish...  These kids are cool.

Winning a championship is awesome.  And when you're 13, it involves a lot of high shrieks.  As it should.  Go AISB!  You rock girls!

Travels of 2012 begin!

After a holiday spent sleeping, eating, and watching movies, we wanted to go SOMEWHERE to get away. We pulled out the travel books and decided on Bratislava, Slovakia.

Close.

Inexpensive.

And new to us.

So off we went for a couple nights...

Bratislava sits on the Danube River between Budapest and Vienna. Just a couple hours on the train from Budapest, we arrived in what was once the capital of Hungary.

In fact, this church, St. Martin's Cathedral, was the location of many kings' crownings for Hungary.

And what European city is not complete without a castle? Bratislava has two!

Sitting above the city's old town is Hrad Castle (pictured above), and Devin Castle (below) is just a 20 minute bus ride from town. (Traveler Tip: to Devin Castle take #29 bus under the New Bridge; get the 1 hour/0,90 Euro pass for one way.)

Devin Castle was my favorite of the two because it is mostly ruins, what is left after Napoleon destroyed it. This castle sits on the fork where the Danube and Morava Rivers meet.

Some other interesting sites of Bratislava included the UFO restaurant standing tall above the New Bridge,

And the narrowest house in Europe, which now houses a fast food restaurant on ground level.

The quaint streets and buildings of Old Town were just as fun to see as the sites of interest.

Bratislava was a great place for a couple nights. It felt more like a small town than a big city after being in Budapest for six months, but it's worth the trip if you're traveling between Vienna and Budapest. I learned a bit more about Hungary, even in Slovakia.

(Traveler Tip: For anyone going to Bratislava, I highly recommend the Hotel Michalska Brana. I don't usually promote businesses, but it was a fabulous find on hotels.com for a great price. One of the nicest places we've stayed in Europe and superb location in the middle of Old Town.)

Bratislava was a good start to our travels of 2012. Much more to come!